July 2004
Media, Police, Street Extra security has been drafted into the area following an attack upon the headquarters of The Constabulary by what were believed to be members of The Daughters of the Desert. No explanation for the attack has yet been discovered and some are beginning to doubt whether it was The Daughters at all. Further confusion is created by eyewitness accounts of the incident, with reports from a number of officers, stating that the attack was prevented by an unknown individual who entered the building undetected, dispatched over a dozen heavily armed individuals and then left without being picked up on any form of internal security cameras. Police, Politics, Transport The Constabulary continues to deny rumours that Andrew Sant is currently being held in their headquarters despite a high profile security operation to remove a detainee from the premises following The Daughters of the Desert’s attack. Sant is still said to be recovering from the attempted assassination in May, however this has not had an effect upon his upcoming trial that is scheduled to start on May 5th. Meanwhile The Constabulary continues to relocate its operations as rebuilding work commences on the headquarters. Legal, Media, Police, Politics, Transport With two days to go before the start of the Andrew Sant trial, security surrounding the courts and roads in the vicinity has been tightened following recent attacks against the accused. In addition to the security at the site, Judge Stanch has also been put under twenty four hour protection for fear that former Sant loyalist will try to prevent the trial by any means necessary. Meanwhile further controversy has been created by the decision not to allow members of the public to witness the trial for fear of further disruption and because of the possibility that security details will be released during the proceedings. Discussions are now under way to show a time delayed broadcast to a second facility that will be open to the public. Legal, Media, Politics With the trial of Andrew Sant set to begin, the focus has shifted to the defence team and what they stand to gain from the trial. Many believe that the case for the prosecution (and the evidence against Andrew Sant) is so strong that there is little point in mounting any defence. However the law firm that has been chosen to defend Sant claims that it will focus upon the amount of control that was held over Andrew Sant by the parent company GAOM. However this defence may be subject to the Nuremburg Clause that states that an individual has control over his actions and that orders from a higher authority are not a defence for illegal actions. Legal, Media, Politics, University As the city waits for the trial of Andrew Sant, the opening speaker for the prosecution has been announced. Commander Jameson, the head of the Armed Forces Group that was assembled to quash the coup will give evidence on the manner in which the city was found following the two nights of Castelan sponsored violence. Following this Dr. Stephen Straud, a leading expert in sound recording from Keele University will validate the tape that was alleged to indicate Sant ordering the execution of a dozen people at the offices of The Sentinel newspaper. Further details of the case for the prosecution are unknown, but with Commander Jameson’s testimony scheduled to last a week alone, this isn’t going to be a short trial. Occult, Street Rumour control. You think that’s the real Sant up there on the video screen? You think there really going to put him on trial and let everyone hear what he has to say? Wake up and smell what you’re shovelling ‘cause it sure ain’t the truth. The real Sant’s lying in a coma somewhere, pumped full of tranquilisers whilst they’ve got this stooge that looks like him parading around on TV! Don’t believe me? Then tell me, why have they got a time delay on the broadcast of the trail? Media, Police, Politics, Underworld Why did The Daughters of the Desert choose to attack the headquarters of The Constabulary? One avenue of investigation is that they were attempting to kill Andrew Sant who is believed to be currently incarcerated within their premises. This would be a very unusual move for The Daughters however, for whilst in the past they have not been afraid of using violence to further their cause, very rarely have these actions been politically motivated. One rumour is that they may have been hired by a third party to perform the attack, a possibility that would be reliant upon their maintaining high level underground ties despite the mysterious Shara leaving. Street, Underworld The question of who has control over The Daughters of the Desert continues, with the main focus who, if anyone, has replaced Shara. One name that has begun to gain a degree of credibility is “The Electric Lady”, although who she is and where she is from remains a mystery. One rumour is that she is controlling the group via e-mail and other electronic means of communication, and may not even be based in the city. Others have been less kind however and have commented that the name was derived from her habit of electrocuting her victims should things not go her way. Meanwhile The Daughters continue to cut a bloody swathe across the city, racking up a higher and higher body count. Media, Police Amidst all of the confusion surrounding the attack upon The Constabulary’s headquarters one fact that they were unable to prevent emerging was that all of the attackers were decapitated by an unknown individual who prevented the attack. Further confusion also surrounds why the prison area was being defended to such a degree (and more importantly by whom?) despite no prisoners being logged within the station at the time. Understandably The Constabulary has denied the rumours, but this has not stopped more and more journalists coming into the area in search of a scoop. Finance, Industry, Media, Politics The growth of Asharaka continues to dominate the local financial scene with more and more personnel arriving every day. In addition to an influx of personnel from the companies Singapore division, Asharaka has also been busy recruiting staff from the areas workforce to further its links in the local business community. Elsewhere the search continues for the former head of the company after confirmation that he disappeared on a recent business trip, although Reed’s existing board of directors are keen to point out that they do not suspect foul play at the hands of their new owners. Bureaucracy, Finance, Industry, Politics Despite initial rumours that Asharaka may have been attempting a hostile takeover of more business interests in the city, the company seems to have settled into a niche within the local community. Indeed, the company seems to be establishing links not only within the business community but also amongst the local government as well, a move that would not have been possible last year due to the continued presence of the late Sean Bowden. Some political pundits have noted that this entire episode would not have been possible if Bowden was still alive and that only the lack of dissenting voices has allowed local government to become so reliant upon local business interests. Perhaps it is time for someone else to step forward and begin to fight for the common man? Finance, Underworld Whilst Asharaka continue to play nice in the boardroom down on the streets it’s another story. Rumours of an associated group of criminals establishing a presence on the city streets have begun to emerge, a worrying possibility given the levels of violence found acceptable amongst Eastern Gangs. Certainly The Daughters of the Desert are taking the threat seriously, having reputedly downsized their operations against a weakened Gambino Group (who in turn are focussing primarily on the weakened remnants of the Sandernacht Group) in order to concentrate on this new threat. No one is quite sure what’s really going on at the moment, but as the body count continues to rise the only thing that can be said for sure is that the current gang war is set to continue. High Society, Media, Police, Transport Remember all of the rumours of an auction in the city? Seems that quite a few people who thought they would get an invite didn’t receive one, a fact that hasn’t been lost on the local fraud squad. Rumour has it that the organisers are now being investigated for possible insider trading by not allowing the items to become available on a more open market. However, investigations are being hampered because The Constabulary is unable to interview the auctioneer at the centre of all of this, the flamboyantly named “Cuban Pete”. He’s been in a coma for the last month following a car accident. Investigations into the cause of the crash have begun. Finance, High Society, Legal, Media, Occult, Underworld A number of antique shops have been raided in the area following allegations of trading in stolen goods emerged following last months “secret auction”. In addition some companies have found that imports are being seized in order to ascertain the legality of the items contained within orders. Particular scrutiny is being placed on orders from the East Coast of the United States after rumours emerged that the auction may have been sponsored by a Miami based businessman with links to the Cuban Mob. The Constabulary refuses to be drawn on the matter. Health, Police, Underworld In addition to its own security problems, The Constabulary has reportedly had to increase security at the local hospital after an attack upon “Cuban Pete” was foiled. The flamboyantly named “Cuban Pete” was left in a coma following a car accident last month and has been held under observation at Hartshill Hospital since the accident. However an individual was apprehended allegedly attempting to smother him. Little is known about the assailant, who is currently being held by The Constabulary for questioning, although rumour has it that he may in fact be a well known Miami based “contractor”. Media, Police, Politics, Transport Members of The Constabulary and a variety of anti-terrorist branches continue to investigate the series of fires that destroyed large sections of High Lane last month in what is reputed to have been a series of deliberate arson attacks. The, coupled with an explosion that resulted in the emptying of the city’s canal system into the sewer system, has led a number of figures in authority fear that a terrorist group may be operating in the city once again. Further confusion has been caused by hazy CCTV footage at the scene of both incidents showing a number of unknown individuals engaged in other activities that have been described as “worrying, but seemingly unrelated. Witnesses to both incidents are still sought in connection with both events. Police, Street, Underworld The emptying of the city’s canal system has thrown up a number of disturbing finds, further increasing the workload of an already stretched Constabulary. In all, thirty-two bodies have been discovered in the mud at the bottom of the former canal, along with enough “parts” to assemble another “half-dozen or so”. In addition to this The Constabulary has also been forced to redirect resources to collect the numerous weapons found at the bottom for fear that they may find there way onto the open market. Bureaucracy, Media, Politics, Transport A strike against one of the city’s transport systems is bound to have an effect on all of the others, no matter how unlikely the circumstances. Although the canal system is used exclusively by the city’s tourist industry the emptying of it into an ageing sewer system has done little to aid the motorist in the area. As the sewers tried to deal with the sudden influx of water, large scale flooding affected many of the city’s roads, bringing traffic to a standstill. In addition, the weight of the water led to some roads collapsing and the need for emergency repairs. The railways fared little better, with services having to be cancelled after fears of electrified rails were raised. Bureaucracy, Church, High Society, Media Investigations by a panel of Vatican appointed experts into the theft of a cross from a church in the Shelton area continue, with the focus now switching to whether the item was stolen to order. One interesting aspect to emerge from these investigations is the breadth of person found in local congregations, with what was described as a healthy cross section of the public included. More interesting is that no-one seems to have had any association with the Crimson Jihad (sic) or the newly established Scarlet, although some social commentators have noted that this may be more the result of the churches feelings towards Castelan rather than their charitable status. Bureaucracy, Church, Legal A number of congregations have raised complaints regarding the sale of the Sutherland Family Crypt to an unknown property developer last month. Although the sale has been approved by the city’s institutions (and has been found to be legal), some members of the local diocese have raised queries about the development of holy ground for commercial premises. However the courts have now intervened and proved that the sale took place with the full knowledge of the diocese and that an attempt to block development now would be illegal. Media, Police, University The Constabulary continues its twenty-four hour guard of “The White Room” at Keele University following a month of further attempted attacks. No one knows who is behind these attacks, but it is believed that they all share a common backer. Investigations are set to continue.